Since my post last year about the Orange & T-Mobile merger, it has been stalled for a while and now the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has asked the European Commission (EC) to do a review of the merger.

The UK's Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has asked the European Commission (EC) for the right to review the planned merger of France Telecom's Orange UK and Deutsche Telekom's T-Mobile UK.

The EC has until 1 March to make a decision.

The OFT said if the request is granted, the matter will be referred to the UK Competition Commission for thorough investigation.

The joint venture threatens to affect competition in mobile telecommunications in the UK, the OFT said. The number of mobile operators in the UK would be reduced from five to four.

The merger between Orange and T-Mobile would create the UK's largest mobile operator, with around 29 million customers, or a 37% share of the market.

Some customers are lobbying at this proposed merger because it would reduce the choices and staff would face job loses if it does go ahead.